Mediocre photos of goldfinches and great tits

Hello, I’m not great at photography, but I’m trying new things. These are my two favourite species of garden birds (wagtails are the most charismatic but I don’t get them often) so I take quite a few photos of them. I hope these look decent enough. Thanks

  • Keep up the good work! These photos are fine. You shouldn't be knocking your efforts.
  • Thanks! That’s made my day, I feel since I’ve not got the most expensive equipment, the thousand of pound cameras for example, that my photos aren’t great.
  • Mediocre!

    Definitely not mediocre. Thumbsup

    The detail is very good, and something I'd be more than happy with. Out of curiosity, what camera are you using?

    In the interim, keep taking those photos, and enjoy what you're doing. 

  • Thanks so much, it’s nice to know they’re alright actually. Funnily enough, I don’t have a camera as such, I use my good pair of binoculars and focus my phone through them. Since my phone has zoom too, I can then increase the magnification. It’s a bit finicky sometimes but I take lots of photos and edit out the bad ones. I’m saving up for a good camera though, just using what I can at the moment. Thanks, Ellis
  • ellis187 said:
    Thanks so much, it’s nice to know they’re alright actually. Funnily enough, I don’t have a camera as such, I use my good pair of binoculars and focus my phone through them. Since my phone has zoom too, I can then increase the magnification. It’s a bit finicky sometimes but I take lots of photos and edit out the bad ones. I’m saving up for a good camera though, just using what I can at the moment. Thanks, Ellis

    If that is the setup, then you can definitely take a well earned pat on the back, likewise so can the camera and binoculars.

    There have been kits out there to facilitate taking photos through binoculars and telescopes using smartphones, and may still be today.

  • I totally forgot about those, I’ll have a look at buying one. That would make it a whole lot easier. It’s fine at close range but when the range increases, since everything is handheld, it goes a bit shaky. This is a comparison between close and long range (is the second photo a sparrowhawk? I’ve always just assumed it was) : 

  • ellis187 said:

    I totally forgot about those, I’ll have a look at buying one. That would make it a whole lot easier. It’s fine at close range but when the range increases, since everything is handheld, it goes a bit shaky. This is a comparison between close and long range (is the second photo a sparrowhawk? I’ve always just assumed it was) : 

    Nice photos.

    I've just had a quick search, they are still available.